Redacted
by Negative-Hysteria
Summary: Skye and Ward are sent on a simple two man operation. But things get complicated when Skye gets captured and uncovers truths about her past. skyeward. My first story, please review!
1. A Cloudy Day

It was a dark morning. The mist clouded the windows as storm clouds grew, 'Great', Skye thought to herself, 'just like every single horror movie starts'. She forced herself out of her comfortable bed and into a pair of jeans and a plain t-shirt. She threw open her cabin door and slowly made her way to the kitchen. The time was 5:30 AM. Skye had no where to go for another two hours,

"Great, just great," she mumbled. She sulked her way around the kitchen, grabbing whatever seemed satisfying at that time. Without thinking, she reached out and grabbed item after item of food until she looked down on her plate. The plate consisted of a bagel, a raw egg, a piece of bread, and a few pieces of Captain Crunch- Agent Coulson's Captain Crunch. She took the bagel and refused the rest of the plate. Skye mounted herself onto the plain counter, settling down next to the toaster, and immediately took out her phone. She had been playing Brick Breaker for 20 minutes when a noise broke her out of her trance. Skye looked up to see Agent Ward examining the raw egg that had once been on Skye's plate. They exchanged looks and Skye slowly slid off the counter, taking the egg out of Agent Wards grasp,

"Yeah, sorry." Skye said modestly. She made her way to the trashcan and threw out the egg and the remaining food on the plate. Skye then went back to her seat next to the toaster.

"So, what are you doing up so early?" Agent ward asked, making his way to Skye. He wore Jeans and a plain t-shirt, exactly like Skye. His shirt was see through, exposing his chest. He stood tall, taller than Skye, and looked at her, waiting for an answer,

"Couldn't sleep," She said. She put her phone down and examined Grant's face. He was tired, but not restless. He was taller than her, even though she sat on the counter, "You?" She asked,

"Same," He said. He mounted himself on the island across from her,

"Really? So super soldier isn't always up at the crack of dawn, patrolling the halls? You know," Skye puffed out her chest and put her hands on her waist, "protecting the home land?" Skye said with a slight giggle. Ward smiled and stared at the ground,

"Come on," Skye said, " I don't believe you. Why are you really up?" She asked. She stared at his eyes, straight on. Well, almost. The inability to stare at both eyes at the same time always frustrated her. The fact that you can never actually genuinely look someone straight in the eyes, that you have to pick one eye, made her aggravated. She finally made it back to earth, realizing she had been spacing, or as Fitz liked to call it, on a "Mind Rant". She focused on Wards right eye,

"Its just hard for me to relax, thats all," Ward said. He got up and left the kitchen and Skye jumped up after him, racing to catch up,

"Wait-" Skye went to catch up to him, but Agent Coulson had stopped them both in the doorway,

"Good," He said with a smile, "You're up,".

It was 7:15 and Skye was seriously regretting ever getting out of bed this morning, but she had to focus on something to keep her mind off of the tiredness. Fitzsimmons showed up 20 minutes ago along with May. Fitzsimmons sat side by side on the white couch, agents coulson and may stepped to the front of the group as Skye and Ward stood shoulder to shoulder behind the white chair,

"We have an assignment," Agent Coulson said, "Low risk, two man op," He stared directly at Ward,

"I'm in," Ward said, "I-" he began to speak when Coulson turned back to the group,

"Fitzsimmons, you two will be off-sight, in the van a few blocks away. May will be extraction and I will be watching from The Bus,"

"I thought you said this was a two man op?" Ward asked. The whole group turned to look at Skye, she had spaced off. She awoke from her trance with the teams eyes boring holes into her,

"What?" Skye said,

"It's a hack job," Coulson said to her, "you up for it?"

"Of course," She said. The mission was to break into a facility run by some anti-government wack jobs and retrieve files stolen from S.H.I.E.L.D. some nonsense on redacted files. The team was about to disperse when Skye remembered something,

"Wait, Coulson!" She said, "my bracelet, I can't hack anything with my damn dog tag recording my every move," Coulson smiled and walked away,

"Don't worry about it."


	2. Low Risk

Ugh I get it, I get it!" Skye moaned as she and Agent Ward went over the same defense over and over again.

"Try it again, you can never be too perfect," Agent ward said, pointing the plastic gun at Skye. She put her hand on her waist,

"You know, for some reason I have a hunch you don't believe thats entirely true," She said, raidsing her eyebrows. Ward sighed and said,

"Again," Ward said, unamused by Skye's joke. Skye weaved her arm around Wards, trapping it. She then kicked the gun out of his hand, elbowing him in the face. He recovered and smiled softly,

"Eh,"

"Liar! I so just beat your ass!" Sky yelled. He then took out a plastic knife,

"Defense number two," Ward said. He came down on Skye with the knife. She held her hands up in defense, grabbed his hand, twisted it back, and stole the knife,

"I'm ready, Grant," She said to him. He stared at her, considering his options,

"You're positive?" Ward said, "Its not a combat mission, but you have to be ready,"

"Trust me," She said. Ward stared and then nodded,

"I agree," Ward said softly. Skye smiled and ran to her room,

"Wheels down in ten minutes," Ward heard May say over the speaker. This was the moment of truth,

"Here we go," Ward said as he made his way to the weapons cabinet.

It was dark as Ward and Skye crouched their way through the streets,

"I still don't get why we are doing this at night," Skye whispered to Ward,

"You want to do this in the light of day? Be my guest," Ward said. Skye threw him an aggravated look,

"No need for the sass, its just…sketchy thats all," She peeked through a small window of the large compound. The building reached 10 stories, with one window on each of the four sides. The building was grey…that was it. No decoration, nothing to suggest what secrets were inside. Not even a front door,

"Remind me again how we get in?" Skye asked. She turned to ward, but was facing nothing. SHe frantically looked around,

"Grant?" She whispered,

"Here," she heard a voice. From behind a bush, Ward emerged, holding his gun in front of his body,

"I don't see any obvious ways to get inside, but I have an idea," He said, he made his way to the back of the building, followed by Skye who was carrying her black bag of hacker nonsense.

"Here we go," Ward said. He launched himself over a large fence with a sign saying "Electric, danger",

"Whoa whoa whoa-" Sky tried to warn him but Ward was already on the ground opposite of her. She stared at him, then at the fence. Climbing it would be no problem, ever since she was 4 she had been jumping fence after fence, running away from her foster sister. She grasped the fence, remembering those memories, and launched herself to the other side. Soundlessly, she and Ward made their way into the building.

They had been wandering the halls for 10 minutes when Fitzsimmons finally fed them the directions through their earpieces.

"Here?" Ward whispered. He peeked around the corner, his hand pressing Skye to the wall. He nodded for her to follow,

"This next left," Fitz said, Skye could hear the nervousness of his voice, she always can. The way his voice shakes whenever he approves a direction and the way he tries to cover it up with a laugh. Skye had once again gotten lost in her mind. She resurfaced as Ward stood protectively in front of her, a hand telling her to stop. He turned to her and pressed his finger on his mouth. '_Guards_' she thought. She drew in a deep breath as they avoided the three guards, making their way into the control room,

"Okay," Ward said, he took out a folded piece of paper, "So hack the main frame and get into the restricted files," he said. One hand was on the back of Skyes chair, the other grasping the paper,

"I'm in," Skye said. She maneuvered through the computer like a mouse in a maze,

"Okay pull up the file 0-3-Alpha-Whiskey-Bravo," He said to her, "but they might have been re named…so…figure that out," Skye rolled her eyes and pulled up the file, dragging it into her own hard drive. Just then, a bang sounded at the door,

"Damn," They both whispered. Ward handed Skye the sheet as he ran toward the door, "You finish while I'll hold them off,"

"Everything okay?' Coulson said into their earpiece,

"Minor problem, we've got some guards at the door" Ward said,

"Hold them off, Skye, finish,"

"Copy," Skye said. She had been pulling up the third file when one caught her eye. She glanced at the list but the file name wasn't there. But it was a shield document,

"Skye, hurry," Ward said, engaging with three guards. She quickly pulled the document into the hard drive along with the remaining four. She pulled out the drive and glanced up, onto the face of 10 guards, pointing machine guns at her and Ward.


	3. Family Ties

**Sorry this one isn't that good, it's early but don't worry theres more to come! Thank you so much for reading and keep the reviews coming! School was cancelled today so the next chapter will be a good one**

"Ward! Skye!" Coulson shouted into the earpiece. Skye and Ward exchanged worried looks. They both had their hands up as the guards searched them thoroughly. Voices were shouting through the corridors as soldiers were speaking into their walkie talkies. The guards had discovered their ear pieces and placed them on the floor to be crushed. As the guards did the pat down search for weapons, Ward stood tall and confident. That was, until the boss walked in. It was obvious this person was the man in charge. He wore dark green pants with a lighter green shirt, his hair was dark and tussled and his eyes were almost black. He looked as if he was in his mid 30's, and Skye would have even called him attractive if he wasn't potentially plotting her demise. He walked right past Ward and straight to Skye as she kept her eyes locked on Ward,

"What did you do with the files?" Skye tried to hide the computer from his view,

"Look at me," The man said. She kept her gaze on Ward. She was thinking about turning her head when Ward shook his head and mouthed "no",

"Look at me!" The man demanded. Across the room, Ward was being restrained by 5 guards and Skye by two,

"Fine, do what you want," The man said. He snatched the computer out of Skye's grasp and brought it to a desk where multiple soldiers examined it. She watched as they attempted to decode the files on her laptop. Skye could see ward out of the corner of her eye, searching the room for possible escape points. Finally his searching eyes rested on Skye,

"I'm Sorry," He mouthed across the room,

"It's okay," Skye mouthed back. She wanted to say so many things right now, starting by apologizing. It's her fault they were caught, if she hadn't had to get that last file they would have been long gone. She swore under her breath slightly, but loud enough for the guards restraining her to hear,

"You!" The man said to Skye, "You can decode this?" He asked. She could answer no, but that just brings her and Ward where they are right now. But if she said yes…the man will do anything to get the information. Skye thought back to her past experiences in situations like these, and thought of the only solution that shield uses. What happened when Simmons contracted that disease? She jumped out of a plane, willing to kill herself just for the safety of her team. What happened when the demon threatened the lives of everyone on the bus? May took the bate to her, willing to take him on alone to save the team. Skye looked at ward struggling with the guards…she will have to shoulder the burden. After all, they're going to need super soldier, nobody will miss the lost hacker. Skye looked over to the men struggling with the computer,

"Hey!" Skye yelled. The man turned to her along with Ward, "Since I'm guessing that there really is no good outcome of this situation for me and my friend here," Skye nodded toward Ward who acknowledged the man, "I'm willing to make some kind of…deal…thing," Skye looked at the man, unsure of what she just did. The man strolled over to her,

"What kind of deal?" The man asked,

"The kind of deal that lets my friend walk out of here unharmed-"

"Skye!" Ward cut her off, but she ignored him,

"Where you can have your precious files or whatever. I can de code them but only if you let him go," Skye finished proudly. The man looked at Ward and then at Skye,

"Fine, let him go," the soldiers were escorting Ward out of the room but Ward was fighting back,

"NO! Skye!" He screamed as he was thrown out the door and into the back lot. The guards threw him to the cement and stood in a circle around him. Ward slowly stood up, maintaining eye contact with the guard in front of him when suddenly everything went black.

Ward woke up back on the bus to the face of a worried Simmons,

"Why am I on the bus," He asked her, rubbing his neck,

"Well you do work here…and live here…" Simmons said, hesitating,

"Did you get Skye?" He asked. Simmons twisted her face and looked around the room for answers,

"Simmons, where is Skye?"Just then the door of his cabin opened as Agent Coulson strolled inside. Feeling the tension in the room build, Simmons slowly stood up,

"I think I'm just going to…" She said as she left the room. Coulson was leaning back on the wall and staring at the ground intently,

"Ward, Skye wasn't taken because she could decode the files," Coulson said to Ward. Ward looked at him with a blank stare,

"What do you mean?" He asked,

"A while ago, Skye asked me to recover a redacted file," Agent coulson said, pacing around the small cabin, "you know, to dig in and see what I could find,"

"What was the file?" Ward asked, slowly standing up,

"It was a file from a mission 25 years ago. Now we don't know much-"

"We?" Ward asked,

"May and I, we don't know much, but we do know that she was dropped off at the orphanage by a Shield agent,"

"What?" Ward said in disbelief, "Why?" Coulson drew in a deep breath,

"Her mother was a civilian involved in many things she shouldn't have been…one of them being the affairs of shield. One thing led to another until she became a solid asset. Eventually she went on missions, gathered information, and helped shield in more ways than anyone could imagine," Coulson said,

"So why take Skye? What does this have to do with anything?" Ward asked,

"One of the operations her mother was on involved an anti-government group interested in Shield. They hacked into our systems multiple times until we were able to trace the IP address and find the source of the hack. Her mother was a mole in the group and when they found out, they took her. Shied flagged her as presumed dead," There was a long silence after that.

"So they took her because of her mother?" Ward asked,

"Well, not exactly. They probably took her to decode the files but they will eventually find out who she is. These aren't regular people, they are well trained soldiers," Coulson said. He stared at Ward who was emotionless. He was staring blankly at the door of the cabin. Just as Ward was bout to say something, the cabin door opened to Fitzsimmons, who had obviously been eaves dropping. A teary eyed Simmons stepped into the room,

"We have to find her,".


	4. Blood and Tears

Skye awoke to water being splashed onto her face. She gasped in air and examined her surroundings. It was a darks room and she was in the center. She tried to blink away the water as she looked down. She was tied to a chair. Not with ropes or duct tape, it was something else. Wires. They were a dark red color and they ran down the chair, tying her wrists and ankles to the wooden chair,

"Good," She heard a voice say. She whipped her head around to see who had spoken. It was the boss guy, "finally, you're up,". He circled her chair, holding a sharp knife in his hand,

"Now, I don't want any trouble," He said,

"Really?" Skye said, "Cuz it looks to me that is exactly what you want," The man shot her a look of rage. Whenever she was in trouble, she immediately turned to sass. It was, she might say, her secret weapon,

"You probably wouldn't know this but you see, I am a profiler. Do you know what that means?" The man asked, stopping in front of her chair. He continued to explain, not allowing Skye to speak, "It means I examine every little thing about you. I learn things about you that you don't even know about yourself,"

"I highly doubt that," Skye said softly,

"You are selfish," The man said, ignoring Skye's comment, "you seclude yourself from others and don't allow them to be close to you. You are stubborn, you don't respect authority, and you believe that rules are meant to be broken. You fail to see the truth even when it is right in front of you." The man finished. SKye looked unamused, but inside she was terrified. Her heart started pounding,

"So what, you read my file," Skye said, "I'd give you a gold star for doing your homework, but unfortunately I am tied to a chair," The man laughed softly,

"You really don't see whats happening right now, do you?" The man said. He approached the end of the room and came back with a small electrical board. Skye started to breathe heavier when the realization hit: Wires and electrical boards.

"Now, you're a smart girl, I'm guessing you know the drill," He said, setting up the board,"I ask you what I want to know and you pour your heart out to me, got it?"

"Wait, no. Sorry I still have some water in my ear, could you please repeat that last part?" Skye said. She regretted saying it right when she did. Just as she finished her last breath, the man jumped up and held a knife to her throat,

"Do you understand now?" he said to her,

"Loud and clear," Skye said. Just before the man went back to the board, he cut the edge of her throat as she felt the blood trickle down her neck. It was only a flesh wound, but the knife stung her throat,

"First thing you will tell me is how to decode the files you stole," He said, his hand on a red knob,

"Well the first thing you should know is that I can't just TELL you how to decode something. Its like…like a puzzle," Skye said, suddenly thinking of Ward, hoping he was still alive. She pushed the thought away and continued to talk, "Its a sequence,"

"Fine, whats the sequence?" The man asked. Skye looked down at her feet, refusing to answer. She saw the man step forward and braced herself for the shock. She looked up just in time to see the man pull the knob. Pain struck through her body, starting at the ankles but traveling up. She tried not to scream but the pain was unbearable. She let out a shrill as the man turned the knob back,

"Would you like to reconsider your answer?"

Back on the bus, people were running frantically back and fourth,

"Hey!" Coulson shouted, "focus. Ward, where were you in the building when they took her?"

"Control room, thats the last place I saw her," Ward said. He was anxiously pacing back and fourth,

"They wouldn't stay in the building, that would just be stupid of them," Coulson said,

"Wait! The bracelet!" Simmons yelled, the hope in her voice made the team freeze what they were doing,

"I had to disable it so she could hack into the computer," Coulson said,

"There has to be something," May said. On the screen was the blueprint of the building,

"Heres what we know," Ward said, "they took her. I hate to say this but most likely are torturing her. They would need to hide her in a place where nobody could hear her. Soundproof and isolated,

"Fitz pull up the names of the identified agents in the organization," Fitz started frantically typing as the team breathed down his shoulder. He projected the known names and ranks of the operatives,

"Okay now how many own properties close enough to drive to but isolated. Like a farm," Ward said. His hand was shanking as Simmons turned to him,

"Hey," she whispered, "we're going to find her," Ward looked down at the table,

"She sacrificed herself for me," he said, growing angrier, "I was supposed to do that, not her!They're supposed to be torturing me! Not her! It's all my fault," The whole team was now looking at ward. He quickly turned around and smashed the trash can behind him,

"hey, calm down Ward," Coulson said. Ward glared at the team and dashed out of the room.

Skye's body was in so much pain that she could not support her own head. Her wrists and ankles were bleeding from the wires and her neck was stained of blood,

"You do realize that if I move this knob one more time, your organs will fail," The man said. Skye refused to look anywhere near him. He walked to Skye's chair,

"One more after that, you will go into cardiac arrest," He kneeled down next to Skye forcing her chin up,

"You think you are so brave," the man said, raising the knife to a position under her right eye, digging in to cause blood to rush down her cheek, "Just like your mother," Skye's head jumped up so fast, she knocked her nose into his face. She struggled to speak as her voice came out hoarse,

"Mother?" Skye asked. The man was at the door, reclining. He took a photo out of his jacket and shoved it in her face,

"Beauty, right? I thought that too," The man stared at Skye's face, dripping with blood and tears, "when i first saw you in the control room you looked familiar. We took your blood sample while you were out. Turns out the little rat did have a daughter!" The man walked over to Skye and made a cut with his knife above her left eye, "now I never got around to torturing her, but you," He paced around the room and landed at the red knob, "well I have all the time in the world," He said as he stared into Skye's eyes and pulled the knob.


	5. Extraction

**Hey guys, I think there will be one or two more chapters. Thank you so much for reading and please keep on reviewing! I'll take suggestions if you are dying to see something happen. I love you all!**

"Got one!" Fitz yelled to the room,

"What?" Coulson asked,

"The leader of the organization owns a family farm, 15 miles south of the building. No civilization for 2 miles,"

"That has to be it," Coulson said. He darted out the room, beckoning for May to follow. He then stopped abruptly by the door,

"You two!" he said to Fitzsimmons as they both looked up at the same time, "get out all of the first aid supplies, be ready for her," they both nodded simultaneously as Coulson and May ran out the door to the weapons room,

"Ward!" Coulson said upon seeing the agent, "we've got a location gear up," Coulson said. Ward just stared blankly,

"Are you waiting for an invitation?" Coulson asked,

"N-no sir," Ward said,

"Good," Coulson finished as he and May climbed into the truck.

…

Skye could no longer hold her eyes open. She was fading fast and the man could tell,

"Don't go to sleep on me, were just beginning. You know, you still haven't given me that 'sequence' yet," The man said. He sat on a chair near the corner of the room. It took all of Skye's energy to respond,

"I'm not telling you a damn thing," Skye said breathing heavily. Her head hung low as she heard the man approach. He leaned down and whispered in her ear,

"You still haven't learned," He got up and put his hand on the knob. Just as Skye was bracing for the shock, there was a knock at the door. The man ran to answer it. As he opened the door he started yelling at the shot man on the other side of the threshold. Skye strained to here any of the conversation, but she lost any energy to do so hours ago. The man looked anxious. He glanced at Skye and quickly darted out the door, just as she fell unconscious.

…

"Fitz, where am I headed?" Ward asked after taking down three guards. He had been sent in with may but they had split off,

"To your right," Fitz said. Ward went to turn right but landed at a blank wall,

"Fitz," Ward said,

"Yeah?" Fitz answered,

"Explain to me how I am supposed to walk through this wall?"

"Wall?" Fitz asked, "what wall? I have the blueprints right here, theres no wall," Ward examined the wall carefully,

"It's new," He said, "Fitz! I found her!" Ward pounded on the wall. He could shoot a hole in the wall to get in,

"Simmons!," Ward yelled, "You kidnap someone and interrogate them. Where in the room do you put them?"

"The center," both Fitz and Simmons replied,

"You see, by placing the prisoner in the middle, they are more exposed-" Simmons started to say but was cut of by machine gunfire,

"Ward!" Fitzsimmons screamed,

"I made a hole in the wall, going for extraction," Ward said. He peered inside the room and saw Skye. She was tied to a chair, her head down and her throat covered in blood...slit,

"No," Ward said, "No,no,no,no,no,no,no," Ward muttered as he ran to Skye. He held her face in his hands. He stroked her neck and felt for a pulse…nothing,

"You are not dead," Ward said, "you hear me? You aren't dead!" he yelled. He felt again for a pulse,

"Ward, report," Agent Coulson said through Ward's earpiece,

"I found Skye," Ward said. He could hear Fitzsimmons on the comms gasp,

"How is she?" Coulson asked,

"Sir," Ward said, "Sir, theres no pulse," Ward buried his face in Skye's limp arm. The comms were silent. No response from Coulson, no reaction from Fitzsimmons, nothing,

"Bring the body to the bus," Coulson said emotionless. Ward looked at Skye's beautiful face. The same face he had been seeing for months. Her deep brown eyes, her flawless skin, the way she held herself so confidently. The way he loved when he was able to bring a smile to her face so easily. He checked a third time for a pulse when he felt something. He looked back at her face and saw her eyes scrunch up. He kept his hand on her neck, feeling her pulse slowly get back to normal. He took out a knife and quickly cut off her restraints. He saw her turn her head,

"Grant?" She said,

"Hey, I'm here," He said, "Skye I'm gonna get us out of here, okay?" Skye nodded. She let Ward pick her up as they maneuvered through the halls,

"Status?" Coulson asked,

"She's alive," Ward said, "She needs medical attention but she's alive," Ward heard a gasp of the entire team, including may. He met up with may who had been holding back the reinforcements. Ward and May sprinted for the bus, Skye riding on Wards back. The ramp lowered, allowing the three of them to enter straight into Fitzsimmons' lab. He lay Skye down on the table and stroked her hair,

"You're gonna be okay," he whispered, "everything is okay,".


	6. I'm not her

**Sorry it took so long to upload I had a crazy week! Expect a couple more chapters. Thank you so much for reading and reviewing. Keep on doing both because they both make my day! Enjoy :)**

"You can stop hovering, she's going to be fine," Simmons said to Ward who had been watching Skye on the examination table,

"Its my fault, isn't it?" Ward said, staring at Skye's sleeping body,

"Of course not! You did everything you could to save her and you did," Simmons sat down next to Ward,

"What did they do to her?" Ward asked,

"Ward-"

"Why was she almost dead when I found her?" Ward said, becoming angrier by the second,

"Electrocution," Simmons said hesitantly. She tried to distract herself by studying her clipboard,

"Simmons," Ward said, "can you give me some time alone with Skye?"

"Of course," Simmons replied. She stood up and strolled out of the room, closing the door behind her. Ward studied Skye. Her chest slowly rose and fell as her hair draped across her neck. Suddenly, her eyes fluttered open. She inhaled a great gasp and looked around the room violently. She immediately closed her eyes again and started whispering,

"No, No, No, not again, please no,"

"Skye!" Ward said. He took her hand,

"No please stop," She whispered with her eyes still closed,

"Skye open your eyes, its me! Ward!" Ward was almost shouting. He called for Simmons as she entered the room,

"She won't open her eyes," Ward said to her. She called for Fitz. He entered the room seconds later followed by Coulson and May. The whole team stood in the lab, watching the events unfold in front of them,

"Hold her down," Fitz said, taking a syringe. Ward and Simmons pinned her arms down. Immediately she started to struggle,

"I don't know anything!," Skye screamed, her eyes still slammed shut, "I'm not her!" Tears streamed down her face. Coulson quickly walked to Skye's side and helped Simmons hold her down,

"Its just a sedative," Fitz said. His hands shook as he pushed the syringe into her arm. She slowly settled down, breathing heavily,

"Just let me die," She said just before falling into a deep sleep.

…..

"PTSD most likely," Coulson explained to the team,

"How could Skye have PTSD? She seemed so strong," Fitz said softly,

"Exactly," Ward said, "any other person would have given up in that situation. She didn't give in. She fought," Ward said, fiddling with his hands. He had constantly been at Skye's side ever since she got back. It felt weird being in the briefing room,

"Do you guys know what this means for the team, though?" Coulson asked. The team stared at him, waiting for the explanation,

"Skye will be different. She might need to undergo treatment, depending on the severity of her case. We are headed for the Hub for further examination," Coulson said. Just as he did, Ward saw the camera in the corner of his eye change. He looked to see Skye slowly moving her head, examining her surroundings. Ward didn't waste a beat. He was out the door before the team knew where he was going. He reached the lab in less than a minute, rushing to Skye's side,

"Skye," Ward said,

"Oh god, Ward!" Skye said. She smiled and hugged him, tears streaming down her face. They stayed there for almost a minute, Skye buried her face in his shoulder. Ward then heard a muffled voice speak,

"Im getting your shirt wet, I'm sorry,"

"Its fine," Ward said laughing, "Everything is okay now,".

…

They reached the hub at 10:00 PM. Ward and Coulson helped Skye into the building,

"Hey, do I finally get a fancy badge?" She asked. Coulson smiled and shook his head,

"Not yet,". They made their way down the elevator into the Special Operations room. There, they approached a tall young man,

"Excuse me, ," Coulson said, "This is Skye,"

"Pleasure," said. He motioned for them to follow him into an examination room where they layed Skye down on a doctors office smelling bed. sat down and started reading her file aloud,

"Skye, former rising tide hacker, captured on an operation 2 days ago infiltrating and anti-government group-" The man started to say,

"Thank you," Skye said, "for bringing back those memories,"

"I apologize if I am making you uncomfortable, but for this exam that may be necessary," Skye shot a worried glance at Ward who put his hand on hers,

"It's okay," Ward said, "were here,",

"Okay first we will bring you to briefing where you will discuss the interrogation," said. A pit grew in Skye's stomach. She looked at the ground, hoping to find comfort in the pattern of the office floor,

"Next, you will have a full body examination to asses the damage done to the internal organs from the…" Coulson shot the man a look as he trailed off. Skye didn't need him to finish the sentence for her to know the word:_ torture._ He continued to explain,

"Finally, you will need to speak with an expert so they can determine if you are ready to go back onto the mobile unit," finally finished explaining. He eventually let them go to her first test. Briefing.

As she walked through the door, she felt hundreds of glaring eyes. She stepped behind Ward, sticking closely and following his every move until they finally reached their destination. They watched as a tall bald man approached them,

"Skye it is such an honor to meet you. My name is Tom, come in," Skye slipped into the black room, set up as an interrogation room. Ward and Coulson were instructed to watch from the other side of the glass. In the room, another man sat at the table. Skye took a seat across from him,

"Skye tell me the first thing you remember after being captured," The man asked,

"Wow, you guys are just straight to business here, aren't ya," Skye said. She looked for a reaction but received none, " I remember waking up in the middle of a room, tied to a chair," She said,

"And how were you knocked out?" The man asked,

"A couple minutes after taking me, they injected me with something,"

"When you woke up, how many people were there in the room?"

"One,"

"What did he say?"

"Well I was a bit busy freaking out to listen to him," The man shot her a look. She drew in a shaky breath, getting progressively more anxious. She balled her fists on top of the table,

"He told me everything about me,"

"About you?" He asked. She didn't answer. He moved on,

"How did he get this information,"

"I don't know,"

"You didn't ask him?" He asked. Skye stared at him in disgust,

"No,"

"Did he torture you?" Skye didn't answer. She looked at her shoes,

"Skye, did he torture you?" The man asked again. Behind the glass, the rest of the team had joined them, all pressing their noses against the glass,

"Skye if you want this to be over you have to answer me. Now, did he torture you?"

"Yes," She said. She began to feel her throat close,

"What were his tactics?" Skye did not hear the question. She started to feel dizzy,

"Skye," The man said,

"This is ridiculous," Ward said, "we can't make her do this,"

"I…" Skye stammered. Her mind went blank. All the pain was coming back. All the blood. She reached up to touch her neck, a red scab stretched across it,

"Skye, answer the question,"

"I'm not her," Skye whispered. Ward shot a look at Coulson. He began to walk into the interrogation room,

"You aren't who, Skye?" The man asked,

"I don't know! I'm not her! Stop, please!" She began to yell. Her eyes were scrunched closed. Ward ran into the room and scooped her up in his arms. He brought her down in the hallway, the team encircling her,

"What does she mean 'I'm not her'?"


	7. Fit for Duty

Ward sat alone in the empty interrogation room,

"You know, you can hide from the enemy but you cant hide from your problems," May said walking into the room,

"So in hindsight, your problems are more dangerous than the enemy?" Ward asked her. She took a seat next to him,

"If you don't face them, then yes," She said, "and you need to face the fact that sometimes there is nothing you can do. Things that happen, happen-"

"If you say that I need to accept that, I will punch you," Ward said. He got up and started pacing back and fourth,"In that moment when they came barging through the door, I felt so helpless. I felt like there was no way I could protect myself so I gave up. I never even thought about protecting her. And when I saw her, all that guilt rushed back. I never thought to save her life over mine, when her first thought was to save mine over hers," there was a long silence. May stared at Ward not knowing what to say next,

"Ward,"She said, "Guilt is a wasted emotion. Be happy that Skye is alive-"

"Yes but have you seen her!" Ward shouted,"She is being haunted by something that I could have protected her from-"

"Yes but that was her choice! You couldn't have done anything about it!"

"I could have saved her!" He yelled. He stared at May. The room suddenly became heavy. It was silent as Coulson entered the room,

"Whats going on?" He asked,

"Nothing," May said, walking out the door,

"Ward," Coulson said, "She's awake,". After Skye's incident in the interrogation room, they had sedated her to run more tests. Ward followed Coulson to an observation room filled with the members of the team. Fitzsimmons stood watching as Skye received a water bottle,

"Agent Coulson," The man behind Ward had said, "The results should come back in a day or so. Until then, Director Fury requests Skye to stay for further examination and for your team to get back on track,"

"I'm sorry, we can't get back to work without her," Simmons said, "right?"

"She has not been ruled fit for duty-"

"Since when was that Director Fury's call?" Coulson asked, "last time I checked, Skye isn't even an asset yet. Technically, she is a civilian,"

"Who was involved in a Shield mission in which she sustained injuries, therefore she is given treatment from Shield," The man said,

"Fine, run your tests, but I will be the one to rule her fit for duty," Coulson said. He left the room, instructing for the team to follow.

…

One day had passed since Skye had been tested. The Bus was "parked" outside of the Hub, even though they had been instructed to leave hours earlier,

"Okay, so whats the plan?" Fitz asked,

"I have a close friend who is working on Skye's case. He said she should be completely available for duty," Coulson said,

"Okay so lets just go get her then-" Fitz started to say but was interrupted be Ward,

"That doesn't make sense," Ward said, "You said that your friend told you Skye is fit for duty?"

"Yes," Coulson said, "why?"

"Technically shouldn't the doctors be calling the shots? Why would director Fury care about a hacker who isn't even fully part of this organization?" Ward stared at Coulson,

"What are you suggesting here?" May asked him,

"What if theres more going on here than we know? Obviously the agency is taking way more seriously than they are supposed to be," Fitzsimmons exchanged glances, not exactly buying in to the scenario, "just here me out! The director of shield, why is he suddenly so interested in Skye?" Coulson nodded and stared at the monitor,

"You're right," Coulson said, "There is more going on here."

…

Skye once again found herself in an interrogation room. Her insides ached as she, for the fifth time, examined the room. She had begun to grow crazy without seeing her team for two days. She had been getting stronger but the pain was still too much for her. Suddenly the door opened as a tall dark man stepped through,

"Hello, Skye," The man said. He finally stepped into the light. He was dark skinned, standing at 6 ft. His left eye was covered in a black eye patch, "My name is Nick Fury," Skye inhaled a nervous breath. There he was, Director Fury, standing in front of her. The man who assembled the Avengers in the Battle of New York and her future boss. She showed no emotion at all,

"I've heard a lot about you," Director Fury began to speak. He circled the interrogation room as he spoke, "Both good and bad," He finally rested his eyes on her. She kept her eyes foreword, staring at her reflection, "Now I'm not sure if you know how operations go here, but I'm pretty sure you understand that you do not want bad things said about you," He reached the table, "lets just say not everything I've heard from you is peachy," He sat down and stared at her. She did not say a word,

"One other thing I heard was that you are quite the talker," He skimmed his papers, "Filled with 'sass and rage'." He glared at her, obviously waiting for her sassy remark. She stared down at her twiddling thumbs in her lap, Director Fury then began to speak once more, "Skye I'm trying to talk to you, I know these past few days have been tough but please give me some answers," Skye looked up at him,

"Fine," She said,

"I need you to tell me what they told you," He asked. He slowly took out a pen and paper,

"What he told me? I'm not sure if you know this but he was the one questioning me," She said,

"I know, but in every interrogation, both sides release the least bit of truth-"

"Not me," Skye said, "I told him nothing. But you people here are too stubborn to realize that,"

"Skye, what did he tell you? What did he ask?" Director Fury continued. Skye exhaled loudly,

"He first asked me how to decode the files,"

"And you told him nothing?"

"Yes,"

"You said something about him telling you everything about yourself,"

"He read me like a book," She said, "He told me how my mind worked,"

"Anything else?"

"He told me…" Skye contemplated telling him about her mother. She kept her mouth shut,

"Told you what?" Director Fury asked. Skye said nothing. He leaned in closer to her,

"Skye, I guarantee you there is nothing they know that Shield doesn't-"

"He told me about my mother," Skye said. She glared at him as he looked at her in shock. He was speechless as he rose slowly,

"What-"

"He told me about my mother, the shield agent,"


	8. A Team

**Hey friends! You all are so awesome, thank you so much for the reviews! So I'm not exactly sure If I should continue this story or start a new one so tell me in the reviews what you think! This would be the last chapter of this story if I start another one. Tell me what you think and review! Love you guys!**

The team re entered the Hub, searching for Skye. They wandered the facility for an hour until finally Fitz had spotted her in the interrogation room. He called Ward and informed him that he had found her,

"Lets go Ward, Fitz found her in interrogation," Coulson said,

"What? I thought the interrogation was over," Ward said to Coulson,

"Apparently not, lets move," Ward and Coulson finally found their way into the correct hallway. They turned the corner to spot Fitz, but he wasn't alone. Behind him stood no other than Director Nick Fury,

"Director Fury," Coulson said, "We were just here to-"

"Save it," Director Fury said, "I know you are here to get the girl. But unfortunately new evidence came up and we are unable to release her,". The room was silent. May and Simmons had just turn the corner and were making their way to the group, walking faster when they saw who had joined in on their friends,

"What did she tell you?" Coulson asked,

"That's classified-"

"She is a member of my team! If it's about her it is not classified!" Coulson shouted,

"It is if I say so!" Director Fury yelled. He looked at the team surrounding him and quickly collected himself. He glanced into the interrogation room to see Skye fiddling with the security camera. He sighed and turned to Coulson, "I will release her when she is recovered and I have all the information I need. Until then, you and your team will keep your noses out of shields business. From here until this case is closed, you and your team's level 7 clearance is suspended," Ward began to protest but it was no use. Director Fury walked away, leaving the team alone in the hallway.

….

Coulson entered the observation room and looked through the glass. He watched as Skye sat, obviously aggravated, at the table. He heard the door close behind him,

"Agent Coulson, nice to see you," The man said,

"Hello, John. Did you bring what I asked?" Coulson said. John pulled out a small manilla folder,

"You do realize I can be fired for doing this," John said,

"I know," Coulson said, "What did she tell him?"

"Not much at first, she didn't even talk the first few minutes. He finally got her talking about what happened. The interrogation ended with this," John drew out a slip of paper, "Its off record. Director Fury cut the tape so it looked like nothing was ever said," John handed the slip to Coulson,

"What does it say?" Coulson asked,

"Read it," John said. Coulson glanced at the paper to see a small line of dialogue,

"Skyes mother was a shield agent?" Coulson asked,

"Thats not all," John said, "While we were evaluating Skye, she kept on repeating three phrases, one of them being 'I'm not her'. We dug deeper. She's referring to her mother,"

"What?" Coulson asked,

"While she was out, we put a certain drug in her system. This drug allows a person to get into a victims mind, cause hallucinations, create memories or bring back memories. The victim says everything they say in the dream, out loud. This revealed that she was being tortured because of her mother being a sleeper agent inside that anti-government organization," John said,

"'Her mother," Coulson said to himself,

"Thats all I have for now," John said,

"Thats fine, thank you so much, John,".

…

"Okay, so now we know what thats about, now can we please get her out of here now?" Ward said to the team,

"Get who out of where?" The team heard a familiar voice say behind them. They turned around to see Skye smiling brightly,

"Skye!" Simmons said and ran to greet her. They hugged as Fitz approach for a hug. Finally Ward walked up to her,

"Not bad for a civilian," Ward said,

"Really?" Skye said to him, "hours of torture and all I get is 'not bad',"

"Fine, solid job," Ward said. Skye punched him in the shoulder,

"You're impossible," She said as she hugged him tightly, "Thank you," She whispered,

"Your welcome," He said. He squeezed her tightly, wishing to never let go.

…

It had been hard sneaking Skye out of the building. But since she had no bracelet and had not received a badge, the hardest thing to do was to avoid all agents above clearance level 8. Eventually, they managed to sneak her out and onto the plane. Still aching, Skye went to her room. She lied down on her bed and closed her eyes. Seconds after, her door slid open,

"Hey," Ward said,

"Hey," Skye said. She pushed herself onto her elbows,

"Listen, I want to apologize," Ward said, sitting himself down on the edge of her bed,

"Apologize? Why? Ward, you saved my life,"

"I know, but it's my fault they took you. It was my job to protect you and I failed,"

"Listen, Ward," Skye said, sitting up and sliding closer to him, "you've known me long enough to realize three things about me. Number one, I don't like when people try to save me. I hate feeling weak and…and like I can't protect myself. Second, you should know I would have been way too stubborn to listen to whatever plan you would have dreamed up. I would have stayed and completed my mission, no matter what," Ward looked up at Skye,

"You said three," Ward said,

"And three, I wouldn't have been able to live with myself if I let you die protecting me," Skye said softly. She looked into Ward's right…no…left eye,

"But thats my job, Skye-"

"I don't give a rat's ass what your job is, Ward!" Skye yelled, "We're a team! And if one of us dies…" Skye trailed off. She looked to the ground, once again searching to find comfort in the patterns of the carpet. After a couple seconds, she finally found her voice again, "If one of us dies, all of us do. Maybe not physically, but mentally. We stick together, no matter what," Ward smiled into Skye's eyes. They stayed there for what seemed like eternity,

"I'm hungry," Skye said, "Let's get food," Ward smiled and walked to the door,

"After you," He said, opening the door. Skye stood up and stood behind him, laughing,

"Just walk, robo cop,"


	9. Ordinary Mission

**I'm so super sorry I haven't uploaded in so long. I hate finals, I hate school, I hate everything. I'll try to upload more over the break but it will be very difficult. Review please and happy holidays! I LOVE YOU, YOU BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE**

"As all of you know, It has been quite the week for us." Coulson said to the team who had assembled in the "living room". They assumed their normal positions. Fitzsimmons on the couch, Ward and Skye behind the chair, and May and Coulson up front,

"But, this does not stop us from doing our job," Coulson said, examining the team, his eyes landed on Skye, "Skye, you will need to keep on the down low for a while. Shield is not sure who survived the attack and if they are still out for revenge."

"What?" Skye asked, "No! No no no absolutely not. I'm not running away from these bastards."

"Skye-" Ward tried to talk to her,

"No!" Skye said,"I'm not abandoning you guys," There was a long silence, broken by Coulson. He sighed loudly.

"Fine," Coulson continued, "Our clearance has been unsuspended, which means we are now available to retain information. This means we are back on track." Coulson motioned for Simmons to pull up the monitor. On the screen was was a man and a woman,

"Agents Grace and Joshua," Coulson explained, "currently, they are undercover in an operation in Uzbekistan. Recently, new information was discovered and they are in need of backup. Both on the ground and in the computer systems." Coulson said, looking at Skye,

"Okay, so what do they need exactly?" Ward asked,

"Two man extraction team, you and May will be on the ground, waiting for them once they escape the compound-"

"What compound?" Skye asked,

"This mission's details are classified," Coulson said to Skye. She sighed loudly.

"Whatever, I don't care I'll help," She said as she stormed out of the room. Coulson glanced at Ward as he rushed out of the room.

…..

Skye was facing the window in her bunk when she heard the door open,

"Go away." She said, not turning around,

"That isn't something you say to your Supervising Officer." Ward said, leaning on the door frame. Skye turned to look at him,

"Sorry, I thought you were Coulson."

"Well thats still not something you say to your team leader," Ward said. Skye rolled her eyes and continued staring out the window,

"Then again," Ward continued, "When do you ever follow the rules?" Skye said nothing. She though in her head about every rule she has broken. Where they had lead her to. All of those foster homes she bounced to, all because she didn't follow the rules. Now this stupid tracking bracelet on her wrist. She heard Ward step toward her bed,

"Ward," She said turning around, "Do you ever feel like you've dug yourself in a hole so deep that you can never come out of it?" Ward stared at her questionably. He searched her face for the answer but came up blank. Ward sighed and sat down next to her on her bed. She stared blankly ahead, emotionless,

"Personally? Yes." Ward said, Skye looked up at him, waiting for an explanation. He looked back down at the ground and sighed,

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to-"

"Its okay." Ward said. The room was heavy with silence. Skye saw, out of the corner of her eye, Ward turn his head to her. She faced him and tried to read his face. Regret. She hadn't known what had happened, but judging by his face, she didn't want to know,

"Skye," May said running into the room, "Coulson needs you." Skye quickly rose and exited her bunk.

….

The office was dark. Skye knocked on the open door to grab Coulson's attention, who had his head in a folder,

"Skye, Come here." Coulson said. Skye slowly made her way to the desk. Silence.

"Sir?" She hadn't said 'sir' in about 6 months, but judging by Coulsons face, he wasn't in the mood for a pet name.

"Skye I continued looking in on your family." Skyes face immediately came alive. Her tired, restless face changed. Her head popped up like a puppy who had just heard the word 'treat'.

"I-"

"Before you say anything, theres something you should know," Coulson said, cutting off Skye, "The redacted file, it had been un redacted for quite a while. Its just, May and I. We weren't sure if there was a way to tell you correctly…" Coulson trailed off.

"Tell me what?" Skye asked,

"The person who dropped you off at the orphanage was indeed your mother," Coulson said, "Skye, May-" He suddenly stopped talking. Skye turned around to see Ward in the doorway,

"Sorry if i'm interrupting," He said, scanning the scene in front of him," Which apparently I just did…Coulson, May needs you,"

"Wait! Coulson, finish your sentence" Skye begged,

"I'm sorry." Coulson said, walking out the door. Ward slowly followed Coulson out the door, leaving Skye alone to her thoughts.

….

THREE DAYS LATER

…

Skye had been helping the mission from her computer. It was the same drill each day: Hack in, shut down, hack out. Nothing changed. Until today.

The mission had been running smoothly. Ward and May were preparing for extraction while Skye erased the two agents from the video feed,

"Good," Coulson said, "Ward, May, ten minutes!" They nodded as they anxiously watched the live feed. They held their breath as the two agents reached the final stop of their mission. They approached a large brown door in the center of the dark compound, Next to the door was the key pad. Skye was preparing to hack the key pad when shots were fired. Two. Each one piercing the two agents. Skye gasped, Ward and Coulson gaped at the screen, and Fitzsimmons yelled,

"Oh my lord," Fitz said,"Did that just…"He trailed off. Coulson then ran for the door and escaped the room.

…

"We need to continue their mission. Both of their covers are intact! We need to get two new agents into the warehouse!" Coulson said to May,

"It's not that easy! We need a male and female agents who fit the description of the other agents!" May said,

"Wait, Grace and Joshua, they never made it to the party right?"

"What party?" May asked,

"Their final mission was not the compound, it was a party. They had to infiltrate and kill the host. It was top secret. They had a deep cover and their description was given to security to let them in."

"Wait, what?" May asked,

"They were guests but by a man working for shield inside the party! He is undercover as head of the security. If any of the men there find out that two agents are let into a party by the head of security, they all die. The description of Grace and Joshua was already given as their cover Mr. and Mrs. Cole." Coulson finished,

"Okay so what was the description? We can find ready agents to pick up the mission."May said,

"A Male, late 20's brown hair, brown eyes, 6'2. And a Female, early 20's, long brown hair, brown eyes, roughly 5'6." Coulson said. May sighed,

"You realize you just perfectly described Ward and Skye." May said to him,

"I know." Coulson said.


	10. Operation Dark Forest

"Wait, I'm going on a mission?" Skye asked. She and Ward had been dragged into Coulson's office by May and were now standing in front of his desk.

"I thought you told her to lay low?" Ward said to him. His face looked slightly worried.

"I know i did," Coulson said, "but there is nobody else for this job, you understand that, right?" Coulson asked Skye. She nodded,

"Yes." She said. She slowly sat down and Ward followed,

"So what exactly is the mission?" Ward asked. Coulson searched through a pile of manilla folders,

"Now, this mission is above your clearance level so you never heard any of this." Coulson said,

"Yes, sir." Ward and Skye said at the same time. Couslon finally picked out a folder and placed it on his desk. Ward reached for the folder. He looked at Coulson for confirmation as Coulson nodded. Ward slowly opened the folder, Skye peering over his shoulder. The first thing they saw was a picture of Grace and Joshua. Ward and Skye looked at each other with worried looks,

"Operation dark forest," Coulson said. Ward and Skye looked at Coulson with puzzled faces, "I know, inconspicuous," Coulson rose from his seat along with Ward and Skye,

"This mission,as a whole, was to contain an independent contractor who had gained too much power. He was planning to overthrow the government. Grace and Joshua were going to infiltrate one of his parties and kill the threat at the source."

"Wait, you mean…"Skye whispered,

"Normally shield doesn't do missions like this but it was necessary." Coulson said, "A simple poisoned cocktail and he will be dead in 15 minutes," Coulson said,

"Okay, and how exactly do we get this cocktail to him?" Ward asked, "We can't exactly waltz in with a bottle of poison."

"Which is why you have this." Coulson drew out a cork remover for a wine bottle. Skye took the object and examined it,

"Great, its not like every person in the world has one." Coulson stole back the cork remover,

"This," Coulson tapped the screw ,"Contains the poison. You put the screw through the cork and into the bottle and then just press down on the top," Coulson demonstrated, showing a small metal button, "And voila."

"Okay, I get it," Skye said, "But why am I here?"

"You have another job." Coulson said,

"What other job?" Ward asked,

"This man is on the top of all of the government agencies in America's watch list. This man is expecting something to happen. You," He pointed to Skye,"are there to keep him talking until the poisoned is administered."

"Thats it?" Skye asked,

"Not exactly," Coulson said, "This man had possession of documents…very secret documents…we need them out of the system and we need to identify how those files ever got there. Also, you two need to destroy the system…all of it. Shield does not want any evidence left."

"Sounds simple enough," Skye said, "so where is the computer?" Coulson looked down at his lap,

"Thats the complicated part." Coulson said. Skye looked at Ward then back at Coulson,

"Complicated?" She asked,

"The computer is in his security office. Skye, you have to get in there." Coulson said. Skye sighed loudly,

"Great." She said

…

Skye was in sitting on her bed searching her computer when the door slid open. She quickly slammed closed her computer and stared up at Ward's face,

"Nervous?" Ward asked, walking to her bed. He sat down and leaned against her wall. Skye placed her computer on her desk,

"Nervous is waiting in line for a roller coaster ride," Skye said, "To be honest, right now, I'm terrified." Ward sat up slowly,

"Skye, theres no reason to be scared. Remember I'll be right there…literally on your arm the entire night. If anything happens, I'll be right there." Skye showed a weak smile. She drew in a shaky breath and looked down at her fiddling thumbs,

"Has anything ever…you know…gone wrong on one of Shields missions before?" Skye asked. She looked up at him and searched his face,

"Skye, missions are…unpredictable. Every one is different. But one thing I know is that Coulson trusts that you will be able to do this. He wouldn't be sending you if he didn't think so, and I believe in you, too. Trust me, Skye,"Ward whispered. He took Skye's face in his hands, "I won't let anything happen to you." Skye drew in a shaky breath. A tear escaped her eyes as she hugged Ward tightly.

"You're ready, Skye, I know you are," Ward whispered, hugging her back.

….


	11. Three Wine Glasses

**Sorry its taking so long to upload, finals are coming up and it's official...I hate school. Sorry about the delay. Review please, my friends! Hope your holidays were wonderful and I hope 2014 is amazing for all of you :) Enjoy!**

"Joshua Matthews and…," The man at the door said. He flipped through his clipboard of papers, searching through the long list of names,"Ah, here we go, Grace Bishop, welcome." The man said, allowing Skye and Ward to enter the huge ballroom. They gaped at the gigantic room before them,

"Geez, who is this man? The queen of England?" Skye whispered to Ward. He laughed quietly,

"No, but I'm pretty sure he thinks he is," Ward muttered back. He held out his elbow to Skye as she smiled and looped her arm through,

"So, we just wait until we can sit down with him?" Skye asked,

"Well, We cant just stand in the middle of the room like lost dogs." Ward said. Just as he finished speaking, they heard a voice behind them.

"Dogs?" The voice said. Skye and Ward jumped and both whipped their heads around, "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you," Jack said. Skye looked at Ward, unsure of what to do.

"It's no problem, ," Ward said. He reached up to his ear and pretended to scratch it as he turned on his earpiece; seconds later, Skye did the same. Skye was staring at the ground but she felt Jack's eyes on her. Ward unlooped his arm from hers and tapped her elbow. She looked up and, sure enough, was staring at her.

"Care for a dance?" He said. Skye looked at Ward. He nodded. held out his elbow and Skye hesitantly took it. She slowly followed him onto the dance floor as he took her hand. The music was slow and Skyes stomach was flipped upside down. They spun in a quick circle, allowing Skye to face Ward who was across the room, staring intently at Skye. She gave him a terrified look as he nodded apologetically.

"Whats your name?" asked, "I have never seen you before." Skye thought quickly and stopped herself from saying "Skye". She glanced at Ward.

"Grace," She said, "Grace Bishop,"

"Grace," he said, "Beautiful name. Its so…regal."

"_Regal? Who the hell says regal?"_ Skye heard Ward say on the earpiece,

"_Obviously he does,"_ Fitz said,

_"Would you two shut it, Skye is dancing with a psychopath and i don't think we should distract her,"_ Skye heard Jemma say. She quietly giggled and looked up at Jack. He was a rather handsome man. In fact, if she didn't know that he was a narcissistic sociopath, she might have thought he was handsome,

"_Skye, keep him talking,"_ Skye heard Ward over the earpiece, "_I'll be at the table in the back left corner."_ Skye cleared her throat and glanced at Ward over Jack's shoulder. He was at the bar, staring at Skye.

"Your friend," Jack said,"Joshua. Can I trust him?" Skye stopped dancing for a second, shocked by the question,

"What?"

"Joshua," He said. They had stopped dancing and he leaned in to her," And you. Can I trust you two?" Skye stared into his eyes. They were black. She saw her reflection and her own hesitation. At the bar, Skye saw Ward stand up and start to move towards them,

"Yes," Skye said. She looked down and stared at his shoes. Jack looked around and took Skye's hand again. They once again started dancing. Skye saw as Ward slowly backed up to the table.

"_Skye, stop dancing. Bring him to the table, I have the wine."_ Ward said over the earpiece. Skye stopped dancing,

"I think its time for a drink," Skye said. She hesitantly took his hand and led him to the table. Ward was sitting contently with a wine bottle on the table. He smiled at Skye, ignoring Jack completely. He stood up and grabbed the bottle.

"Would you like some, Grace?" Ward said to Skye,

"Yes, please." She said,

" ?" Ward asked.

"No thank you, I think I've had enough already." He said. Skye looked nervously to Ward. He simply said,

"I insist," Jack Simeon stared at Skye. She had been too terrified to look away, but in the corner of her eye, she saw Ward open the wine bottle. He poured three glasses. Skye hesitantly took one and watched as Ward did the same,

"Oh come on," Ward said, "You're letting perfectly good wine go to waste," Ward watched as Jack smiled and picked up the wine glass.

"So, tell me about this party." Ward said,

"Excuse me?" Jack said,

"The cause. Why the party?" Ward asked. He pretended to take a sip of the wine. Jack examined Ward, slightly shrugged, and took a sip himself,

"It's a celebration," Jack said.

"What are you celebrating?" Skye asked him. She had been much to terrified to pretend to drink the wine. Jack stared at her with a certain look. She didn't know what about it, but the way his eyes concentrated so closely on her…

"You know," Ward said, clearing his throat, "Grace, I think it's time for a dance, don't you?" He took her wine and set it down on the table. He took her arm and lead her to the edge of the dance floor. Ward put one hand on her waist and the other hand he linked with hers. Skye put a hand on his shoulder and looked up at Ward. She shivered,

"Geez, he creeps me out." Skye said, looking at him over Ward's shoulder,

"I know. The way he looks at you…" He trailed off. He stared into her eyes as they slowly danced. She felt the hand on her waist tense as a voice spoke in their earpiece,

"_Sorry for interrupting, but Skye still has to get to the security room,"_ Fitz said. Skye looked around the room,

"Okay, do you have the computer virus?"Ward asked. Skye decided it would be best to disguise the computer wipe as a virus. Ward had to admit, it was a genius idea.

"Yeah. We need a reason to leave the dance...Jemma, where are the bathrooms?" Skye asked,

"_Not by the security room if that's what you're asking,"_ Jemma said, "_They are on the other side of the building."_

"Damn." Skye said,

"It's okay, I have another idea." Ward said. Skye looked at him,

"Does it involve you turning into the samurai?" She asked. Ward laughed quietly and pulled away. He dragged her off to the side of the room,

"You have to trust me, Skye. Do what I say and we'll survive, okay?" Ward said. Skye nodded. Ward took her hand,

"Good," He said as he took a glass of wine and dragged her away.

"Man is it hot in here?" Ward said entering the security room. Skye stood at the end of the hallway.

"Who the hell are you?" The security guard asked,

"Are they trying to hide the bathrooms cuz I can't-" Ward was cut off by the sound of a punch. Skye heard as Ward took out the two men in the room. There was a short silence. Skye started to make her way into the room when Ward poked his head out,

"All clear," He said. He wiped the blood from his nose as Skye got working on the files. Ward stood guard at the door,

"Shit." Skye said, "Shit shit shit shit." Ward ran to Skye,

"What is it?" Skye slammed her hand on the table,

"Damn it! The virus! Its gone!"

"What do you mean 'gone'?" Ward asked,

"I mean it was in my pocket and now it's not! I must have dropped it while dancing with you and…" Skye trailed off,

"Jack. We have to get it before he finds it,"Ward said. He exited the room,"I'll be back in a second, don't move!" Skye sat in the chair at the desk. She examined the monitors as she saw Ward pop into the ballroom. She smiled slightly, seeing Wards attempt at looking drunk for his performance earlier when he entered the security room. She then scanned the monitors of Jack Simeon. She searched each one and found him on a small one in the corner. He had his hand in his pocket as he was walking down a corridor. Skye stood up slowly, for she recognized the hallway,

"Nice try, Grace," She heard a voice behind her. A gun cocked as she turned around to face Jack. His hand was out of his pocket, and inside it was the drive with the virus,"Very clever." He said as he bashed the gun to her head. Skye dropped unconscious to the ground.


	12. The 0-8-4

**Hey guys! Sorry for the wait, but final exams are finally over! Hope you all have been having an amazing 2014 and dont forget to write a review! Have a wonderful day, friends!**

"Where are we with the feed?" Ward asked, entering Fitzsimmons lab.

"Simmons is running facial recognition for the other men in the tape, I'm putting out a BOLO for the car." Fitz said. Ward was about to leave when he noticed something in the feed.

"Simmons!" He yelled just as Coulson entered the room with May.

"What-" Coulson began but Ward cut him off,

"What's that?" Ward said,

"What's what?" Simmons asked,

"Look at Skye's wrist. Isn't that her-"

"Her tracker." Coulson said,

"I thought it was deactivated," May said,

"It is," Coulson said, "but it still won't come off until director Fury takes it off himself."

"Hold on. Are you saying its still on? If it refuses to come off then something still has to be working," Ward said, "and that means…"

"It can be re-activated!" Simmons said,

"Can she do that?" Ward asked,

"Its Skye, she could do that with her hands tied behind her back…" Fitz trailed off, "Which they probably are…" He finished. Ward shot him a look,

"So she can still turn it on? Can we?" Ward asked,

"No," Coulson said, "the only person who can do that is Director Fury…and Skye. But it would be hacking into the system…shield would try and fight it."

"We have to tell them to turn it on! Or at least tell them not to fight it!" Jemma said, she rushed to the computer," If we tell Director Fury to let her hack into the system then we can find her!" She was breathing heavily,

"Okay, but until then…what do we do?" Ward asked. The room fell silent. EVery single wandering eye landed on Coulson. He took a deep breath,

"We wait…" He said. Ward looked taken back as soon as the words came out of his mouth,

"What? We can't do anything else? We are relying on Skye to save herself?" Ward said, he began to pace franticly, "did you guys forget that she was JUST kidnapped? What if by the same people? What if this is part of something way bigger than what we are thinking?" Just as he said that, Coulson and May shot each other horrified looks,

"What?" Both Fitzsimmons and Ward said to them,

"Are you thinking what I'm-"

"Yup," Coulson cut May off. They looked at Ward and Fitzsimmons,

"I guess now is a better time than ever," Coulson said,

"Better time for what?" Ward asked,

"SIt down," May said, "and listen up."

…

Skye woke up in a strange room. She drew in a deep breath just before attempting to get up. As soon as she tried, she wished she hadn't. A gigantic pain shot through her head, causing her to yell and force her head back on the pillow…pillow? She looked at her surroundings. She lay in a bed with pale white covers. SHe was in a perfectly square room. The floors, walls, and ceilings were all coated in cement and a small window was placed 10 feet above her. In the corner, a wooden chair was placed with spider webs running from the bottom to the top of the chair. The door wasn't exactly a door. It was steel with 5 locks running down the left side above the handle. She then looked down at herself. She was no longer wearing a dress, but rather black yoga pants and a white tank top. SHe looked around, confused and terrified, for it had just dawned on her what had happened,

"Shit…"

…

"24 years ago, an 0-8-4 was reported in a small village in China," Coulson said, "Apparently, the entire village had been wiped out trying to protect this 0-8-4. When the S.H.I.E.L.D team arrived, they immediately lost contact. Another team was sent in and discovered the team was dead too. In the arms of the lead agent was the 0-8-4, covered in blood but alive."

"Wait, alive?" Ward said,

"The team grabbed the 0-8-4 and attempted to take her back to shield,"

"Her?" Simmons asked, "The 0-8-4 was a baby girl?"

"Yes. She had some sort of power. But once they got back, the team started dying. They were tortured and killed until only two remained. They erased the girl's identity and set up a shield protocol for the foster system to rotate her every few months. But, whoever was after the girl, the 0-8-4, killed an entire village and two shield teams." Coulson finished. The team gaped at him, moths hanging open,

"And this is relevant because…?" Simmons asked,

"It's Skye," Ward said to himself. He looked up at Coulson, "Skye was the 0-8-4, wasn't she?" The room fell silent. Simmons put her hand to her mouth, too shocked to say anything. Fitz reached his hand up to simmons and patted her shoulder and Ward said nothing, gazing at the ground,

"And now you think…" Ward said,

"That they found her." May finished. The room once again fell to silence. The team sat quietly waiting for comedy to break the silence. Eventually, Fitz did just that,

"Why do they need her? What power does she have?"

"We don't know, and sadly neither does she-" Coulson said,

"How do you not know what power you have?" Ward cut cousin off," I' mean she has to know something is…fishy, right?"

"I don't think so. Ward, she just found all of this out the day of the mission. I doubt she's had time to think it through…"

"Well, now we wait for her to turn on her bracelet…right?" Simmons said,

"Right." Coulson whispered.


	13. A Life Without Her

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"Hello?" Skye said. She had been searching the room up and down for a way out, "Hello!? Can anybody hear me?!" She stopped at the door and ran her hands through her hair, "Okay, I know someone is out there! Theres no use ignoring me!" Skye threw herself against the door and let out an aggravated breath, "Okay, I've seen the movies, I know how this goes," She said to the guard she hoped was standing on the other side of the door, "You're the person who was just brought here, right? You're probably just guarding me to get away from some boring desk job. I get it! No hard feelings, but i think a desk job would be slightly more eventful!" She waited for a response, hoping that there actually was someone on the other side of the door, "Please tell me I'm not talking to a potted plant…" She said. She raised an eyebrow,"Okay, I guess I am." She faced her back to the door and slid to the ground. She took a deep breath, "Well what the hell am I supposed to do now?" She whispered to herself.

…..

Ward sat on the couch in the "living room". He had poured himself a drink but had no intention to drink it. That night, not much had agent ate their dinner separately. Even Fitzsimmons ate in their own bunks, which is something Ward never thought he would ever see in his lifetime. Couslon had eaten in his office, and May in the cockpit. It seemed as if life on the plane had come to a halt. With nothing to do but wait, life was…slow. Time all but stopped. Ward wandered the halls. Each of them containing a memory of/with Skye. _No_, Ward thought to himself, _Stop talking like she is dead. She isn't dead. _A feeling of doubt rose into his mind as he thought this, _She can't be dead…she isn't._ He found himself walking into the training area outside of Fitzsimmons lab. A single punching bag still hung from the ceiling from their last lesson that was weeks ago. So much had been going on, nobody took the time to take it down. Along with the punching bag, Skye's equipment was all there, including her phone that she used during the small 5 minute breaks,

"_What do you do on that thing anyway?"_ He had asked her once. She had looked at him with utter amazement and surprise,

_"Oh Ward, there is so much you don't know about technology," _She replied. Ward smiled and had sat next to her on the bench,

_"So tell me," _He said,

_"Technology is…limitless. The entire dictionary, comfortably in your hand. Pictures of amazing places all around the world on a screen right there. Any book, any movie, any knowledge you can imagine, right here next to you. It's,"_ Ward watched as she searched for a word, _"Inspiring."_ She had always gotten lost in her rants about technology. One minute you'd ask her to search up the meaning of abstemious and the next minute she is lecturing you on how amazing it is to have the whole world of words at your fingertips. He strolled over to the bench, staring down, imagining Skye. Her hair falling loosely over her shoulders, her thumbs patting the screen ever so gently, her dark brown eyes, focused on the small screen. He smiled. Soon, that smile faded. He thought of life on the bus without her. Without the early morning random conversations over a bowl of Lucky Charms. A life without the daily training sessions accompanied by the daily complaining. A life without a little comic relief after every tragedy. A life without the reassurance that you are not alone. No matter who you are, even if your entire family is gone, you are never alone. Just seeing Skye made Ward think of hope. How he had yelled at her and threatened her and she forgave him in seconds. How a man who had kidnapped her only months ago was, in her eyes, at no fault. He had asked her once if everything just rolled off of her shoulders. And her answer had changed his life. Skye has changed his life.

"And I can't let her die."

….

Skye paced in the room. Only seconds before, she had discovered the hidden camera that had been monitoring her. Thus began her plan.

"Okay," Skye whispered to herself, "Disable the camera and somebody has to come and fix it. It'll probably be just the weak techy guy…right?" Skye stopped. Her hope faded, "Of course not, who would send in a weak techy guy," She stopped pacing abruptly, "Wait…am I the weak techy guy?" She contemplated her role on the bus, "Holy shit, I am!" She drew in a deep breath and let it out. She jumped onto the bed and held her face in her hands,

"Come on! Think, Skye, think!" She ran her hands along her face when suddenly she felt something cold, something not…skin. She looked down at her hands and spotted her bracelet. She had noticed a dent in which the people who captured her obviously tried to remove it. She was missing something. Just as the thought rose in her mind, she heard a loud thud. Her head bolted up. Another thud. She stepped off of the bed and made her way to the door. A third thud. She was about to reach the door when it flew open, sending her falling to the ground,

"Oh," Jack said, "You're awake."

"Yeah," Skye said, lifting herself onto her elbows, "Yeah, kinda have been for a few hours, dude, I don't think that cameras working very well for ya," She gestured over to the camera placed under the wooden chair,

"Oh, so you saw that," He made his way over to the chair. He picked it up and placed it in front of where Skye was sitting, her arms outstretched behind her, holding her up, "Well, it was pretty obvious, wasn't it?"

Skye said nothing

"Well," Jack said,"Skye is it? Thats a very unique name, short for Skyler I presume?"

"No"

"Skyler, I am going to ask you a few questions, okay? All you have to do is answer me-"

"I'm not telling you anything and I'm not 5 years old, dont talk to me like a child and don't talk to me like you actually care what I have to say," Jack's eyes flashed in anger,

"Skyler, please just cooperate. All I need you to do is answer me-"

"I'm not gonna answer any of your damn questions!" Skye spat at him,

"Fine, we'll do this the hard way." Skye saw him gesture to the men behind him. Before she could do or say anything, she felt a syringe go into her neck and suddenly, everything was black.


	14. The serum

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Skye watched as a fuzzy figure came into her field of view,

"Wake up, sweetheart." Jack said. Finally, Skye's vision managed to straighten. The first thing she noticed was a tingling sensation in her arms. She attempted to stretch her arms out in front of her, but discovered that her hands were tied behind her back. She was laying down on a cement floor, cold and hard. She sighed and attempted to get up. She could only manage a sitting position,

"What the hell-"

"Skyler-"

"Stop calling me that, damn it! My name is Skye!" Skye spat at him. He then kneeled down, trying to level himself with Skye, but he still ended up inches taller than her,

"Skye, how are you feeling?" He asked as he reached out and stroked Skye's hair. She retreated back,

"Peachy." Skye replied in a mutter. She focused her eyes on a single spot on the cement ground. Her heart pounded as she felt the damp cold ground sting her bare feet.

"Skye, where did you grow up?" He asked her.

_I'm not telling you a damn thing! _She wanted to scream…but she couldn't. Instead something very different came out,

" Orphanage mostly-" She said in a pale voice. Right as the words came out, she looked up at him in surprise. She didn't mean to say that. She didn't. It wasn't her…something inside her _forced_ her to say it. Jack let out a small grin,

"Where do you live?"

"In a S.H.I.E.L.D mobile unit-" Came out of Skye's mouth. She couldn't fight it. Words,the truth,was spilling out and she had no control over it.

"If you are wondering, I have injected you with a truth serum…" Jack started to say. He continued speaking, but Skye had lost her focus. She immediately thought about the first day she had met Ward. Skye remembered the interrogation room, Coulson and Ward tricking her into believing there was a truth serum, Ward telling her everything with those sad puppy dog eyes…and then she giggled. The memory of Fitzsimmons constant bickering snuck into her mind, causing her to laugh even harder.

"Is something about this funny to you?" A voice said, bringing her back to earth. Skye stared at Jack Simeon, not saying a word. Soon, she began to feel the truth fighting its way out of her mouth.

"I was just thinking of-" She cut herself off. _Fight it_. She told herself, "I was just thinking of something funny my friend once said about…about the truth." Skye said, and was shocked. _Okay, thats a good sign, that wasn't entirely the truth…_.

"Nevermind, I don't care," Jack said. He made his way to Skye and loomed above her,"Now tell me your biggest secret." He said. Skye was taken back. She was about to tell him that she didn't know, didnt have a biggest secret, but something came out of her mouth before she could,

"I have-" She stopped herself. She fought the urge to say it. What exactly, she didn't know, but she wasn't intending on finding out. She took a deep breath. _Think Skye, think._ She though of her options and she came up empty. Skye was desperate. She searched through her mind and thought of the only thing she could at the time.

"I cheated on my Freshman year final exam off of Kate Winsmith," She said. Though she admits that this was the full truth, it wasn't what she was going to say before. Jack was staring at her with an eyebrow up. She knew he didn't buy it, "And then I stole 50 dollars out of her wallet." She said.

….

"How long has it been?" Simmons asked the team,

"As long as it was the last time you asked 5 minutes ago, and add that to the answer." Fitz said. Jemma shot him a glare.

"Sir," Ward said anxiously, "Please tell me there is something more we can do. We analyzed the feed 8 times and came up with nothing."

"No hits on the plates from the car?" Coulson asked,

"Nothing," Fitzsimmons chorused. The team then plunged into another awkward pause. Wards mind wandered to the memories of the team meetings held where they stood now. Every meeting, each agent went to their respective spots: Fitz next to Simmons, Coulson next to May, and Skye had always been next to him. Her Supervising Officer. Ward became anxious. He escaped the room and ran to Fitzsimmons lab. He raced down the black steps and flew into the lab, heading toward the monitor. The screen displayed the same image it had been for 24 hours-a map with the words "No Signal" placed in front, blocking the view of the map. Ward concentrated on the map,

"Come on Skye, tell me where you are…"

….

"Skye, this could be so much easier if you would just stop fighting the serum!" Jack yelled. He was completely right. Skye had managed to completely override the first dose, but Jack found out when she started rambling off track, causing to completely lose his patience. Now, she was fighting off the second dose. It felt as if you wanted to vomit but your mind refused to. Since the serum was so hard to manipulate, Skye had begun spitting out half truths. Half lies, but somehow, crazy things made their way into sentences.

"Everything would be easier if I stopped fighting! Take Kids Bop for example-"

"Skye, don't fight it!" Jack growled as he snatched the back of her head, holding her by her knotty brown hair,

"Why do you care? These questions are pointless-"

"They won't be if you answer them!"

"Never!" Skye shouted.

"Why did that village die to protect you!?" Jack shouted, "Why am I being paid to capture and question you? Why are you so special?"The room became silent, "Tell ME!" Jack shouted. Skye refused to even look, twisting her head to the side and forcing her eyes to stare at the ground. Her stomach dropped as everything started to fall into its horrible, messed up place. After moments with no answer, Jack roughly released her hair, causing her numbing body to shiver. The room had been getting progressively colder, and the fact that she had nothing but a tank top and thin black pants on was not helping. Jack circled Skye, who had positioned herself in the small ray of sunlight coming from the window. Jack started to speak,

"You are strong, but I will crack you." Jack said,

"People crack eggs," Skye muttered, "eggs are…weak. They have shells but they have not spent 24 years building up that shell for when people like you try to take it down," Skye said, growing louder, "You have no idea what I've been through and what I've done to strengthen the walls around me. The life I have lived so that nobody can know who I really am except for me. Believe me, I have tried to give up but I can't. But that made me stronger because thats what happens when you don't give up, you make your fortification so strong that nobody, not a truth serum nor a narcissistic sociopath, can break me," Skye spat. With every word came the agony of the truth serum fighting her but every sound brought more and more power, "So no. You're wrong. You will never crack me, no matter how many times you stick me with that truth serum. You will never find out the truth. Not from me, at least."


	15. Full Circle

**Hey guys! So I'm thinking maybe two or three more chapters. Thank you all so much for your support! Your reviews make my day so keep them coming! If you have any story ideas, dont be afraid to tell me them in the reviews! I love you gorgeous people!**

* * *

Ward awoke to a light beeping sound. He slowly raised his head and examined his surroundings. He had fallen asleep in Fitzsimmons lab. His head was resting on the black keyboard and his legs were outstretched under the desk. He slowly rubbed his eyes and searched for a clock. 3:43 A.M. Ward sighed and slowly rose out of the desk. He was just about to exit the room when the beeping sound came back again, Ward snapped his head back and walked slowly to the monitor. An alert suddenly popped up, causing Ward to fly back in defense. He recovered slowly and searched his surroundings, making sure nobody just saw him try and defend himself from a television screen. He shook it off and examined the alert closer. He squinted his eyes and read the text carefully. He was almost done reading when a broad smile stretched across his face. It was a report saying they have found the vehicle in which Skye was taken. Automatically, the address popped up onto the screen. Ward quickly dashed out of the lab,

"Coulson!" He yelled.

…..

"I don't get it," SKye said, trying to keep as much strength in her voice as possible. She had been given yet another dose of the truth serum and her body was wearing out. She forced her eyes to stay open, "Why aren't you torturing me or something? Not to say that your voice isn't torture, 'cuz it really is," Skye shifted uncomfortably and examined the room once more. It was completely empty and colorless. Not one object, other than Jack's chair, was in the room. She once again focused her attention on Jack, "Also, this room could use some interior design. Its looking pretty bland."

"I'm not torturing you," Jack said, completely ignoring Skye's last comment, "because I was instructed not to."

"Instructed?" Skye asked. She watched as a guard tapped Jack on the shoulder and shook his head in a warning,

"Who's she gonna tell?" Jack said, "Even if S.H.I. is looking, they'll never find her." The guard slowly stepped back to watch the events unfold. Jack quickly readjusted his bright grey suit and red tie.

"Yes, Skye, I was instructed. Aperently, your previous captors were a bit too rough with you than he had wished." Jack said. Skye gaped at him. How had he known? Who? Did she say something under the serum by accident? If so, what else did she say? skye forced her questions to stay in her mouth as she recollected herself,

"He? Who is he?"

"More like a they, Skye. Come on, I thought you would have pieced this all together by now." Skye sat there in silence. It was all starting to make sense. Why she had been captured the first time, this second time. They were the same people. But who? Jack noticed Skye's confused face,

"Look past the puzzle pieces. Set them aside and start over, _from the beginning_." Jack said,

"From the begin-?" Skye froze mid sentence. The beginning. They were the same people who hunted her when she was a baby. They killed two S.H.I.E.L.D teams. At first, SKye didn't know how to act. She felt relieved, for she had found out who had been hunting her and who knows everything about her past. Relieved that she had finally been captured and no more had to worry about anybody else getting hurt because of her. She almost smiled until the wave of terror hit. These people murdered dozens of people to get to her…and now she's finally here. Skye let out a shaky breath,

"Well, I guess we've come full circle then."

…

The entire team piled into the car,

"Where are we going, fitz?" Ward asked, putting the car into reverse,

"An industrial area by the outskirts of the city, sending coordinates to the GPS now," Fitz said. He and Simmons were seated in the very back of the car, whispering back and fourth. Ward tried to listen in on the conversation but decided to actually focus on driving.

"Sir," Ward said, keeping his eyes on the road, "Do you think Skye's there?" Coulson took a deep breath,

"Theres…theres really no way to know, Ward," Coulson said. The drive was only 20 minutes but it felt like forever. Fitzsimmons chatted in the back while May and Coulson discussed exit strategies. Ward and May were to go inside and scope out the place along with Coulson while Fitzsimmons messed with the computer system and anxious feeling began in each of the members as they rounded the final street.

….

"Well, my clever girl you figured it out." Jack said. Skye had been dreaming up ways of escape but immediately forgot her plan. Her wrists ached from where the zip tie was holding them back, and her head hurt from the mental strength she used from fighting the truth serum.

"Okay, you got me. After all these years of you hunting me down and me, escaping, not even knowing people were after me. Congrats," Skye said sarcastically, "Good job guys, great effort." Skye winced as she accidentally put pressure on her elbows, which have been burned by the rubbing of them on the cement floor. She pushed the pain away, "You know, maybe next time you could, I dunno, tell me I'm being hunted so I could at least _try _to escape, ya know?" Skye smiled her devious smile, "Well, I mean i obviously can get away from you guys if you hunted me down for 24 years and I escaped without even trying. Thats gotta sting. Yeah, that should put a big giant dent in the reputation," Skye said. She lifted her head to face Jack, "In my honest opinion." Jack scrunched his face in anger and sunk to the floor until he was eye level with Skye. He reached his hand up and slapped her hard across the face,

"Smart ass," Jack murmured, standing up. He motioned to the guards, "It's time.". The guards took Skye and pulled her to her feet. Skye could barely balance on her own. Her head spun and her eyes started to flutter closed. Holding on to her arms and shoulders, the men and Skye walked out the door.

…..

"Anything?" Coulson asked into the comms. He, may, and Ward had entered the building easily, but without eyes on the cameras, the mission would be impossible.

"No-Wait! I got it, sir!" Fitz screamed. He had gained access to ten of their cameras,

"You see Skye?" Ward asked. Fitz scanned the cameras but came up with nothing,

"No sign of her, sorry Ward,"

"Its okay," Coulson said, "Lets go."

They entered a new hallway that was low lit, long, grey, and other than them, completely empty. Fitz fed them directions to get to the main area of the building. Seconds after turning into a hall, Ward heard footsteps. He warned Coulson and May, and, with no turn for another good 30 feet, they dispersed and attempted to locate their own hiding spot. Just as a group of men walked by, Ward slipped into the broom closet.

He bent down and looked through the small window. The group was assembled in a type of square, as if something important was hidden in the middle. To Wards terror, they stopped right in front of the small broom closet he had hidden in. He heard muffled voices shout as he quickly retreated under the window. Seconds later, he peaked up to see a sight that he had been hoping to see for two days: Skye. She was in the center of the arguing men, barely standing. She was obviously getting supported by two men next to her. Ward watched as Skyes drowsy eyes fluttered Open and closed, open and closed. Just as she was about to close them again, she turned to face the closet and made eye contact with Ward. Her eyes widened with, not happiness, but an emotion he had never seen her show: terror. She looked around rapidly at the men who were paying no attention to her. She turned back to ward. She smiled ever so slightly and let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. Ward was about to smile back when the group started moving again. Ward watched as the men holding Skye pushed her, sending her tumbling foreword, away from him once again.

…..

He's here. He is actually here. Skye's mind raced. Her heart pounded from excitement. As much as she wanted to know what the hell was going on with her, she wanted to go home. She barely felt the men pushing her foreword as she thought about home. Her longing to finally sleep in her own bed again, watch those movies that she and Ward always put on after the others went bed, and to finally feel at home. Her whole life, she never had a home. Until the bus. That was her home. And she longed to feel that way just one more time. A tear dropped from her eye as she felt them round a final corner. Her heart raced as Jack fumbled with the keys. He found the right one, pushed it in the door, and it opened slowly.

Skye struggled to see inside. It was dark. Not a single light was on as they dragged her into the room. The men pushed her foreword, but this time, they let her go, causing her to fumble foreword and fall to the ground. Skye managed to land cleanly on her knees as she inched in pain. Everything hurt. She didn't know why, but that was the least of her problems. Skye frantically searched the room. Nothing. The guards were exiting the door as Skye was placed in the center of the room. Just as the last guard left, she thought she saw two figures…maybe three sneak in. Her heart jumped as she thought of May, Ward, and Coulson. She struggled to find them but they had disappeared into the shadows.

"I have been waiting so long for this moment." A voice said in front of her. She breathed heavily as she heard slight footsteps heading toward her. Skye said nothing as the man stepped into the light. Skye had never seen him before. For some reason, she expected to recognize the person who had tried to take her so many years ago. He was tall. Skye estimated about 6'3. He had brown hair, tousled and obviously in need of a cut. He was in his late 40's, younger than she had expected him to be. He was wearing a dark black suit with a bright red tie. His eyes were a dark blue.

"Well, was right, you certainly are beautiful." His lip curled into a devious smile. He stepped around her, circling her,

"I also heard you were quite sassy. Wonder where thats gone." He spat out the last part, knowing exactly why Skye has changed in the last few days. Skye wanted to scream at the man, maybe insult him, but her body didn't let her. Skye attempted to get to her feet but was stopped by a hand on her shoulder, forcing her down.

"Don't struggle, my dear, it will only hurt more," The man said. He was right. With each breath, Skye had gotten weaker and weaker. Everything hurt. Even the slight tilt of her head caused a shock of pain through her entire body. Skye glared at him,

"Decades of hunting you down, and now you are here in front of me," He said. He stood over her, still with a smug look on his face. He walked over to the far corner of the room," You know, you caused quite the mess 20 years ago, with your powers killing half of my men." He came back with a syringe and a knife.

_"Oh god,"_ Skye thought, unable to bear the thought of another syringe entering her body. She swallowed hard, Skye wondered where her team had gone…or if they were even there.

"Now, don't be alarmed. We have already given you the most painful part, thats why you are currently feeling as if your body is being torn apart piece by piece. Just think of this last one as a…stimulant for the first one." He approached Skye, getting closer and closer,"I have been waiting so long to finally harness all of your powers." He said. He placed hiis foot on the back of her neck and pushed her to the ground. She let out a cry, feeling pain in every part of her body.

"Now, don't move." The man said. He was just about to place the syringe in Skye's neck when the sound of the safety of a gun clicking off interrupted him,

"Get away from her, you son of a bitch." Ward said, pointing a machine gun at the man's head.


	16. For the first time in days

**Hey friends, hope you have enjoyed the story so far! Next chapter will be the last, but more stories will come! And I'll probably make a sequel story to this one :) haha please review, beautiful people! Have a fabulous day!**

* * *

Ward dashed into the scene, ignoring Coulsons struggle to make him stay. He stepped closer and closer to the man, keeping he gun fixed to his head,

"Skye,are you okay?" Ward asked. Skye slowly rolled to her side and managed to painfully get onto her knees. She opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. Instead, she let out a rigid cough.

"I presume by now, she is not able to speak." The man said. Skye looked at the man in horror, then to Ward. Ward lifted his gaze from Skye to the man,

"What the hell have you done?" Ward asked, bringing the gun to rest at the mans temple. The man was unfazed.

"They want her powers. To do that we need to tear her apart piece by piece just before she is dead, forcing her to use them." The man said. Ward heard footsteps behind him. He swung hishead back, seeing Coulson walking into the scene. Coulson rushed to Skye's side, "And I wouldn't kill me, by the way." The man said with a devious smile,

"Why not?" Ward asked, but he already knew the answer. Just as the words came out of his mouth, Skye let out a shrill. The agents turned to face her and she dropped to the ground and curled up into a ball. Finally having her hands freed by coulsin, She tucked them into her stomach along with her legs,

"Whats happening to her?"Skye heard Coulson say faintly. The pain was too much to bear. She felt as if the skin was tearing away from her body, being ripped off by an animal. Her head felt as if it was being ripped in two, her stomach flipping inside her. Her legs were like twigs as she felt every bone in her body snap. She felt each area of her body burn as if she was in an incinerator. She slammed her eyes shut, letting out a scream. She just barely heard the voices of the others in the room,

"Give me the antidote." Ward said

"Relax, your friend isn't actually going to the brink of death, we are only making her think that." The man said. Ward glared at him,

"The hell does that even mean?"

"Its all in her head." The man said, tapping a skinny finger to his temple. He took a step toward Skye and Ward defensively followed, keeping the gun to the mans head,

"Make it stop, hand over the antidote!" Ward yelled, hearing Skye let out another shrill,

"Oh, come on, its almost done, might as well let it finish." The man said. He sat down in a chair that Ward hadn't noticed was there. Ward shot a look to Coulson, searching for help. He stared blankly at Skye, reaching out and touching her shoulder,

"Sir," Ward said quietly, "Sir, what are her powers?" Couslon slowly lifted his head to stare at Ward,

"I have no idea." Couslon said. They shared a look of terror and waited for the signal.

….

"Fitzsimmons, May, whats happening?" Coulson said quietly into the earpiece. Ward sat at Skye's side, stroking her hair softly as she whimpered in pain,

"May, the bottle should say 'Anti-serum'," Simmons said into the comms. Ward and Coulson listened closely to the rattling bottles at Mays side of the earpiece,

"Yeah, I know. There's a lot of bottles and only one me." May said,

"Ward, can you help her?" Fitz said into the comms, hearing a glass break on May's side.

"No," Ward said, "I'm not leaving Skye here. Coulson, you go help her." Coulson shot a glance to Ward.

"Are you sure, Ward?" Coulson asked,

"Yeah, trust me, I can handle this guy." Coulson nodded slightly and slowly backed out of the door, dashing to May on the other side of the compound. Ward stroked Skye's face, wiping away a tear that had fallen,

"You're going to be okay, Skye, trust me," Ward whispered. Skye, for the first time since he found her, opened her eyes a crack, looking him in the eye. She smiled slightly,

"I know." She whispered.

….

The door flew open as May swung her head around. Coulson stood in the doorway, winded from his long run to the room,

"You take that side, I'll take this one." May said. They searched through the countless bottles of medicine and poisons, but could not find a single bottle labeled 'anti-serum'.

"Simmons, could anything else work? Make the process stop or reverse?" Coulson asked. The other line was silent for almost a minute. Then a voice spoke,

"Try finding a stimulant. Something that would make her body strong enough to fight it." Simmons said. Coulson scanned each bottle until he found one. He tossed it to May and dashed out the door,

"Ward, we're coming your way." Coulson said.

…..

"It all seems worth it," The man said, circling Skye and Ward, "24 years of torture, because of _you._ Maybe this is good for you to know how it feels." He said to Skye. Ward's hand inched over to his gun, tempted to shoot the man. But if Coulson never finds the antidote, they'd need his help. _"Damn it"_ He thought to himself.

"And you," The man said to Ward, "Do you even know who she is? How many people are dead because of her?" He spat at Ward, "She is a monster, and here you are defending her." Ward shot to his feet, pointing the gun at the man,

"Skye is not a monster." Ward scowled,

"Oh," He said, "Her name is Skye? How interesting," He said. Ward was just about to pull the trigger when Coulson and May came bursting through the door.

"You?" The man said to Coulson, "I never noticed you'd left-"

"I don't care," Coulson said, "You have one last chance to give me the antidote." The man stood there, grinning. Coulson took a step toward Ward,

"Why do this? Why torture her? It makes no sense to me," Coulson said to the man, "Is it because you're jealous that she won against you? A child, beating you at your own game," Thats when Ward felt something in the palm of his hand. Coulson quickly glanced at Ward, to Skye, and back to Ward, drawing his hand away from Wards. He knew what to do. Coulson continued to speak and distract the man while Ward dropped down to Skye's side,

"Hey," He said softly. Skye was barely conscious, "This is gonna sting a little, okay?" Ward said. Skye managed to nod slowly. She let out another shrill. Unable to stand seeing her in this much pain, Ward thrust the syringe into Skye's neck. At first she let out a yelp, then, slowly, she began to calm down. Her face relaxed and her body unraveled,

"No," The man whispered, "No!" He yelled. He began to run to Skye but before he could, May tackled him to the ground. Ward smiled, seeing Skye happy for the first time in days.

"Good job, Ward," Coulson said, smiling to Ward,

"You too, sir." Ward said. They reached out and shook hands,

"What about me?I mean, I think I did pretty well," Skye turned to Coulson, "I had it all under control the whole time, no need to thank me, sir." Skye said. Coulson laughed and hugged Skye for what seemed like ages. She turned to Ward, who was smiling like a little boy on christmas. She smiled back and hugged him tighter than she ever had before. They stayed there in each others arms, feeling safe for the first time in days.


End file.
